Tag: fashion blog

A week of outfits: Transitioning from grad school to 9-to-5

Today, my friend Sue, who graduated with her MA last year, talks about dressing for your first adult job!

Hi y’all! I’m Rebecca’s friend Sue. I just graduated and I’m back in the working world. Before I got my MA I worked at a Fortune 500 company, so I had to adjust my wardrobe for grad school (the West, a more casual vibe). I moved back to the East Coast this fall and started a new job so I had to adjust my wardrobe again. 

Monday
I typically start the week in a dark dress – I think because it’s easy to roll out of bed Monday morning, put on a dress and not worry about mixing and matching. I typically pair with a cardigan or (maybe) a blazer. My office is business casual, leaning more towards the business than the casual…no casual Friday’s here! I had a few staple dresses from grad school but definitely have been in a bit of a buying frenzy and utilizing Rent the Runway Update! 

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How I figured out my personal style in grad school

When I arrived at my MA program, I had a lot of clothes, and liked clothes, but was also one of those people who never felt “pulled together,” and especially not in a way that looked effortless. Fortunately, I had a habit of stress reading blogs. And I soon found capsule wardrobe bloggers. Through their influence, I figured out that my problem might actually be too many clothes, going in too many directions. So I started doing a couple of things to find the direction in my style. 

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My choices for the Summer 10×10

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The Summer 10×10 starts Friday, so I’ve picked my 10 items of clothing out to get ready to make my outfits. Here are my picks (some not pictured):

-4 tops (boho, knit tank, tie t-shirt: all thrifted, and chambray: J Crew investment)

-3 bottoms (linen pants, white midi skirt: thrifted, jean cut offs: here)

-1 dress (here, on sale for $40)

-2 pairs of shoes (converse, sandals thrifted)

No black clothes!

I tried to pick lighter colors this time around and gave myself the challenge to pick no black clothes. Black is my go-to neutral color and I’m trying to move toward tan and white in the summer.

On my agenda 

My 10×10 this time consists of nothing but dissertation writing and social time. I need outfits that are appropriate for field work (I am doing qualitative research in a casual, but masculine, environment–I usually opt for muted colors and pants in that situation), but that’s my only constraint. I tried to pick fun items to remind me to go outside, downtown, and away from my laptop in general.

The other challenge of my 10×10 is that it’s so hot that all clothes seem like bad options. I picked linen and other soft, breezy items for that purpose.

That’s my 10×10 kick off–see you on Friday with the first outfit.

Teaching when it’s hot out, pt. 2

Happy almost July! I start teaching in 12 days so I’m obviously gearing up by planning my first week of outfits instead of the first day of class (#syllabusday).

The joys of teaching 5 days a week in July are…none. It’s really hot out. I usually teach 3 days a week. Now I can’t repeat outfits as frequently. But I can repeat outfit formulas over and over again, and that’s exactly what I plan to do by doing vest + sundress combos.

Vests are so magical. I didn’t own any until last year when I realized that they make everything look somehow pulled together without causing me to overheat. Now I’m a vest enthusiast. Here I’ve picked out one of my many Old Navy sundresses (so cheap! so plentiful! come in tall sizes when you’re trying to look professional!) and paired it with a vest from Target.

I hope your summers are the perfect combination of productive and unproductive so far!

More color, please!

This season marks my three year anniversary of dressing using a capsule wardrobe, and I have no idea how I got dressed before I made the change! If you don’t know what a capsule is, it’s based on the idea that too many clothing options lead to decision fatigue, and dressing with less options will maximize your wardrobe. Caroline, over at Un-Fancy, suggests 37 pieces, and the idea is that they should all focus on a similar style and color palette. Here’s a get started guide if you’re interested. 

When I first got a capsule, I was in love with allll the colors (teal, seafoam, lavender, blues, red, pinks, yellows….to name a few), and I basically quit color all together, because I realized that if you buy only neutrals everything matches. Lately I’ve been missing color, though, so I am working on incorporating more color into my capsules. Here are my picks for this spring and summer:

My ideas for how to bring color back into my life are pretty apparent in this pic:

-Select only a couple of colors

-Pick colors that pair well

-Focus on adding color with accessories 

-Steal Home Depot paint chips to keep myself on track (taping these up next to my closet has been helpful and reminded me of what colors I should focus on)

I’ve been enjoying this tomato red and yellow so far. Here’s a link to my pretty yellow sandals, red purse, and all the bandanas. 

How to avoid looking like an undergrad in grad school

 

Is this a common grad school anxiety? I think it is. If you’ve come straight out of your undergrad, you probably want to look older so that you don’t get hit on by some guy in the dining hall line who asks, “so, are you a freshman?” (#truestory). Some ideas:

-Messenger bag or tote>backpack. Some suggestions.

-Mix one business casual piece in with your casual wear (in this case, oxfords).

-Sweat pants/workout clothes are awesome and you have every right to wear them but they may increase the risk of the aforementioned junior-guy-hits-on-you scenario.

-Glasses have been shown to boost your perceived credibility.

You could also just decide you don’t care if someone mistakes you for an undergrad! But on days when you do care, the above can be helpful.